The invention relates to an automatic dispenser of visiting cards.
This kind of machine is already well-known, vending single visiting cards by using a heat transfer printer housed in a respective protective casing of the type normally used for bar-code machines.
The printer is commanded by a processor, while downstream of it there is a cutter to cut the single cards from a roll of cardboard on which they are printed.
The exact cut of the cards is managed by the processor, based on the parameter commands it has received.
Determining the exact moment of intervention of the cutter is very difficult, since the printer receives the characters necessary for each card and stores them in a memory before the printing operation begins. The time necessary for printing depends on the initial position of the printing head, the character type used, the quantity of data stored and the effective printer print speed in relation to the data to be printed.
It is evident therefore that calculating the time the printer in theory needs to finish each card is very difficult giving rise to the risk of either premature or tardy cutting and thus ruining the card or delaying delivery of the finished product to the client.
In addition, present card dispensers are not very practical from the maintenance point of view, since access to the printer can be difficult and changing the roll of card is a fiddly and time-consuming task.
The principal aim of the present invention is thus to provide an automatic dispenser which is functional, practical and simple to use and easy and fast to maintain.
A further aim is to provide an automatic dispenser that is able to cut single cards exactly without waste either of card or time on the part of the client.